Unprofessional
by nisachara
Summary: Kakuzu is manager of a successful modeling agency. The only legitimate relationship he has is with his work. But that soon begins to change when a new model is taken into the agency & more than one person attempts to modify his definition of: relationship
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Although this starts out looking like a Kakuzu/Mei story, trust me, Kakuzu does not see it that way. To him, it's just business relations, and she's a friend with benefits 8D There will be more Kakuzu/Hidan as the story progresses...

Also, this is my first time ever writing Mei. To be honest, this version of Mei was inspired by an rp. It is not my intention that any of the characters come out as errr... slutty, but given the AU setting, I think it is fitting.

That being said, do not expect any of the characters to be expressing their love for one another anytime soon, or at all With professionals, it's always 'no strings attached'.

* * *

><p>Kakuzu dipped his foot tentatively in the steaming water and contemplated walking away from it all. But Damian tugged at his leg, smirking up at him from below amidst rising clouds of steam. Kakuzu stared hard at him for a few moments before finally relenting.<p>

"Cheer up," the man said, moving to the side to let Kakuzu in. "We're only here on business."

"Ridiculous place to be conducting business," Kakuzu mumbled, closing his eyes as he leaned back against the smooth rock wall of the bath, letting his body adjust to the searing temperature of the water. When he opened his eyes, he exhaled slowly, eyeing Mei in the distance at the opposite end of the artificial onsen.

She was basking in the therapeutic waters, sipping on a margarita as she spoke to two of the representatives of the agencies she was looking to pick her next top model from. One slender hand slipped behind a representative, resting against the colder rock ledge, steadying her in her position. Feeling eyes on her, she casually turned to look in Kakuzu's direction, turquoise meeting emerald.

Kakuzu sent her a lopsided smile, himself leaning further back into the wall and bringing his arms up to rest against the ledge as well. She only flicked her tongue out and dragged its tip against the rim of her glass, tipping it slightly in his direction before taking in another sip.

He accepted a mojito that was offered to him by one of the employees of the hotel and brought the glass up in front of him, tipping it slightly in her direction, returning the gesture. He took a sip. Mei sent him a smile from behind her glass, now pressing her tongue flat against the cold, smooth surface and licking up the side. She lifted herself an inch in her current position, exposing a hint of a nipple above the waterline. Kakuzu raised an eyebrow; she only smiled, eyelids settling to half-mast in a sultry expression.

"Getting distracted again?" Damian chimed in, nudging Kakuzu in the side and flashing a grin.

Kakuzu broke off eye contact with his boss and concentrated on his drink. "No. She just told us to get started with work here."

His partner sighed. "Of course she did." Terumi Mei, with all her charms and personality, was one tough woman to work with. There was no slacking off, and Kakuzu and Damian usually had to pick up from where she left off before she turned her attention to a new good-looking young man.

Both managers now turned their attention to the models socializing at the East end of the spring. Kakuzu scanned the twenty or so young men and women in the distance and was ready to dismiss them all of being not worthy of a second glance… until a particular model with silver hair, perfect physique, and a rather long beaded necklace caught his attention.

This young man didn't seem to want to socialize with the others in his group. Instead, he was leaning against the wall to the far corner of the East end, arms outstretched against the ledge, lazily scanning his surroundings. Kakuzu noticed how, even when he seemed to be standing in the shadows, he demanded attention. He couldn't really pinpoint what it was about this model that caught his eye, but he certainly did stand out from the rest.

Kakuzu leaned in to whisper to Damian, eyes still fixed on the model. "What about the one with the silver hair?" He nudged his chin in the direction of the subject.

Damian's gaze followed Kakuzu's line of sight. He nodded. "Demands attention already. And he's not even doing anything."

"Hn. Unlike Deidara." Kakuzu frowned in Deidara's direction, watching as the blonde surrounded himself with fellow models, basking in his self-proclaimed notion that he was a masterpiece. Deidara had started off well, and to be honest, he still was extremely good at what he did. The only problem with him was his attitude; it was beginning to grate on the managers and finding him work was beginning to become a chore since he'd begun insulting their clients about the lack of artistic vision they had in their ideas for photo shoots. Deidara was high maintenance, and he wasn't bringing much profit to the company… Except that when he _did_ agree to a photo shoot, he managed to bag a whopping good sum. But the company couldn't survive on the very infrequent funding he brought it, and Kakuzu made it clear that he wasn't too excited about this new 'development'… _at all_.

Presently, they were interrupted by Nigel, who, squatting down behind them, greeted them with: "Are you two done making a decision?" It wasn't the warmest of greetings, but it was to be expected with Nigel.

Nigel was an intern, only twenty years old and fresh out of college. He also happened to be the agency's latest addition to their management staff. But being a rookie shouldn't undermine his capabilities. He was a keen strategist and very good with intel. Kakuzu considered him an asset to the team, and had been grateful to Mei for letting the boy work with them. Running background checks, conducting employee screenings, drawing up marketing strategies, and accessing top secret information about rival modeling agencies were all part of Nigel's job description. Perhaps the last bullet-point on his list wasn't written in ink on his contract, but Kakuzu held it was an unspoken criterion. In Kakuzu's opinion, Nigel was perfect for the job. Damian, however, wished he came with a slightly less sour attitude.

Damian turned halfway to flash Nigel a smile. "Someplace more interesting on your mind?" The smile, of course, was never returned.

"I don't see either one of you interviewing the potential models. I didn't sign up to come spend 'family time' with the rest of you. If you have work for me, I'll have it done. Otherwise, I don't see the point in me sticking around."

"And what does any of this have to do with the two of us coming to a decision?"

Nigel frowned. "If you'd come to a decision sooner I wouldn't be obliged to stay here any longer."

"Key word, Nigel," Kakuzu said, stopping to take a sip from his drink. "_Obliged_."

At this, Nigel pursed his lips, letting them form a thin line across his face. Of course he knew he had no say in the matter. If they wanted him there, he had to be there, regardless of whether there was any work for him or not. He'd been bored out of his mind for the past half hour already.

Kakuzu only went back to sipping his mojito, a hint of a smile playing on his lips as he heard the rustle of Nigel's shorts when he stood up behind him.

"Find out who the guy in silver hair is," Damian added before Nigel turned to leave.

Nigel _had_ been on the verge of stomping off in a huff, but stopped, back turned to the two men in the bath. "His name is Hidan. Aged twenty two, works for Yu & Co. Been on the job for three weeks, so he's a rookie. No family or other affiliations. Nothing remarkable about his profile; he doesn't even have a complete portfolio." With that, Nigel left them.

Damian chuckled, turning back into the water and leaning against the rock. "And here I thought I may help him feel useful. That kid is something else."

Kakuzu agreed. "At least we can be sure that 'stressful work load' wouldn't be on his list of grievances in his letter of request for retirement."

"I still don't understand how you manage to put up with the killjoy."

"What's there not to understand? He gets the work done, I can deal with that."

"Yes, but his attitude…" Damian glanced in Nigel's direction. The intern seemed to be clicking his nails in an attempt to subdue his frustration at the lack of productive work.

Kakuzu took another sip out of his drink, letting the alcohol cool his lips before it went down. "Just a minor complication that can be overlooked. If he's bringing in the money, we shouldn't be having any more concerns."

Damian chuckled, glancing sideways at Kakuzu before shaking his head. "You're always about the money, aren't you?"

"It's good to stay focused. Besides, that's what we were hired for, weren't we?" Kakuzu now redirected his gaze to Hidan, their new potential pick of the season. Twenty two years was rather old to start a modeling career. Kakuzu wondered what the man had done before this. Nigel hadn't let them in on the details; he had a habit of only providing them with pertinent information while he withheld the rest. Nevertheless, Kakuzu was confident that he would receive a complete background check on the man by tomorrow morning, latest. Nigel couldn't pretend he wasn't bored for too long.

Hidan seemed to have felt a pair of scrutinizing eyes on him, because soon the manager found himself staring right at the model. Kakuzu used this opportunity to take into account the shape of the man's face, trying to picture how it would look like in their latest project. From this distance, it looked like Hidan didn't even require any make-up: his skin seemed perfect. This was a plus-point, and Kakuzu mentally ticked it off in his head. He appreciated the shape of his nose, his neck, and soon his gaze followed the contours of the man's body down to his chest, eyes skimming over the well-toned muscle that stretched out under the sun, creating perfect shadows in the natural light. Yes, this man was perfect. Kakuzu could see the profits rising in the company's account already.

Just then, in the middle of his calculations, he felt a hand caress him under the water, just below the navel and across to his hip. It was Mei. Kakuzu could see that she was a little more than just 'buzzed' after her drinks: the glazed look upon her turquoise eyes told the story.

She pressed up against his side, leaning against his shoulder for support. "You've decided," she said. "You've got that look." She glanced over to the group of models, wondering which one he'd chosen.

Kakuzu smiled to himself. She could read all of his expressions by now. "The one with the silver hair."

Mei turned her attention to said model and smiled. "Mm. He's perfect." She loved how the sunlight played against his skin. He would be a good face for their company, she could tell. "Your judgment has always proved to be of great benefit." A perfectly manicured fingernail made a slight scratch on his chest. "Would you call it a gift of intuition or simply talent?"

"I was always under the impression that you hired me for my talent, Mei." He moved some of the fiery hair that now clung wetly to his chest.

"Oh, of course I did." She gave him a sultry smile. "I hired you for your _many_ talents."

Kakuzu laughed. "Yes, I do recall my resume listing out more than just a few."

A chuckle. "Always so literal."

"We _are_ talking about my professional talents, I presume?" Kakuzu knew full well what she was on about, but let their banter drag on.

"You presume correctly. You _are_ professional in everything you do." And Mei would play along.

"Thank you."

"Even in talents not listed on your resume."

At this, his features broke into a smirk. "I am sure that is not why you hired me."

"No, but I had a feeling it would be that way. Let's call it… a woman's intuition."

"Indeed. _You_ have all the intuition. I have all the talent."

Mei arched one perfect eyebrow and turned to look at him. Her expression conveyed disapproval, and at this, Kakuzu found himself chuckling. "I believe that statement may have been slightly biased."

Her smile was back. "Only slightly?"

Presently, she brought her leg over Kakuzu's, straddling his thigh. The fact that she was naked seemed to reinforce itself when he felt her soft, wet flesh press against his skin. Her hands drew sensual circles on his chest under the water, occasionally dipping down to stroke his length. She appreciated how big he was with a low moan, eyelids now once again at half-mast. Kakuzu raised an eyebrow. "Mei?"

"Mm. I suppose I'm a little drunk."

"I can tell…"

Kakuzu felt the water swirl to his left, letting him know that Damian had waded off to find a less intrusive spot.

Finding it not the best place to be subject to such behavior, Kakuzu looked around, conscious that they weren't alone and that this was far from being professional. They had come here to pick out a potential fresh face to their list of very successful models, and here they were, behaving like a pair of lusty teenagers in a public place. "Mei, this is not professional." He reached under water and pulled her wandering hand away from himself.

She pouted. Using his thigh as leverage to push herself up by a few inches in the water, she pressed her upper body firmly against his chest, hands now resting against his pecs, thumbs caressing the hard muscle she found there. She craned her neck upwards, nipping at his chin, begging for a kiss.

But Kakuzu knew what that would lead to, and hesitated. His hands gripped her waist firmly, keeping her from getting full access to himself. He looked down at her, biting his lip softly to try and keep calm in the situation, mind trying to come up with as many exit-ways as possible.

Mei's eyes seemed to be begging him for a kiss, relentless in their silent pleading. _Oh come on, just a little one_, they seemed to say. Kakuzu tried looking away, tried focusing on anything other than Mei. But her encroaching touches and the feel of her thighs pressing – literally squeezing – against his was amounting to a little too much build-up for his own good. So, leaning in, he dipped his head and kissed her. It was a short, quick little peck on the lips, but that was all he was giving her. _For the moment_. Kakuzu knew she would want to continue this soon.

Mei angled her chin just a little higher, trying to reach him as he pulled away, wanting his lips to linger on her own for just a little longer. That had been too quick.

Tactfully evading her advances, Kakuzu turned to where the tables stood near the patio of the changing area. Turning halfway, he snapped his fingers once and called out: "Andy!" The man came running towards Kakuzu and crouched down beside him, alert to the incoming command. "Sir?"

"Get Miss Terumi a towel, and help her to her room, please."

Andy nodded, and ran off to bring back a towel, and also another pair of hands to help him get Mei out of the water.

She let the men hand her the towel, which she managed to wrap around herself, the majority of it under water and sticking to her skin. Perhaps this really wasn't the best of places to have her way with Kakuzu, she figured. "Tell Damian to talk to the boy when he gets a chance." Grabbing Andy's hand, she hoisted herself out of the water.

Kakuzu turned. Damian? Why Damian, when it was his job to interview the newcomers? "But—"

She cut him off. "You know where to find me."

Kakuzu could only watch as she left puddles in her tracks on her way back to the hotel, the wet towel sticking to her and accentuating those curves as she walked. Of course she would always have her way; she was his boss. Groaning, he turned back, arms going to rest on the rock wall behind him as he leaned against it once again, immersing himself in the water for a few more minutes of relaxation. Glancing to where Damian had waded off to, he noticed his partner talking to the boy – Hidan. Apparently Mei had sent Andy to convey the message to Damian while on her way inside. She must have suspected that Kakuzu wouldn't have obeyed right away. He gritted his teeth. _She knows me too well._

As he watched, Damian waded off to the shallower end of the onsen, grabbing a towel to wrap around himself as he eventually stepped out the side of the bath. With Damian out of the picture, Kakuzu now focused his attention on Hidan, who, he found, happened to be looking straight at him. One of his elbows rested against the rock wall behind him, hand drawing lazy circles on the surface of the water. And when he caught the manager's gaze, he held it for a few moments, sending a very sexy smirk his way.

And for some unknown reason, Kakuzu felt his skin break out in goosebumps…

x.X.X.x

Damian sought out Kakuzu, following him to the bathing station where they had left their clothes. He found him wrapped in a towel below his waist, moving from shelf to shelf, and pulling out the basket that each one contained, trying to discern which shelf held his clothes. Damian eyed him for a few moments before stepping into the narrow space to join his partner. "Kakuzu."

Kakuzu only glanced sideways at him, still occupied with trying to find his clothes. Presently, he had a basket tilted towards him and was sifting through its belongings. Discovering that none of it were his clothes, he slammed the basket back inside, moving onto the shelf above.

"Took me a while to find mine as well," Damian said, crossing his arms against his chest and eyeing the thirty or so shelves in front of him. There was another set of identical shelves behind him, which Kakuzu would have to sift through if he happened not to find his clothes in the first thirty. _That would take some time_, he thought, sympathizing with his partner for his predicament.

"Bastards," Kakuzu mumbled, tossing the clothes and slamming the next basket into back of the shelf. "What were they trying to achieve when they decided to move our belongings?" He paused, taking one step back to look up and glare at the rows of shelves he still had to go through. Turning around, he noted how the opposite wall was full of shelves as well. "This is like trying to find that one particular safe deposit box in a strongroom!"

"Hmm, I wouldn't know. Haven't been inside one," Damian said, grinning.

Kakuzu only rolled his eyes. He ran his fingers back through his hair, exhaling slowly, forcing himself not to give into the temptation of tearing down the wooden compartments that now stared back at him almost mockingly. The long narrow space did resemble a strongroom. But sifting through the thousand of safe deposit boxes would still have been an easier task than this, Kakuzu thought. At the bank you were given a serial number. "What did you want?"

"Just wanted to let you know that I spoke to the new model."

"Did you think it would be of interest to me to listen to information I was already aware of?" There was no hiding the fact that Kakuzu was very annoyed – not only because he couldn't find his clothes, but also because it had been Damian who had been asked to speak to the model first.

Damian was well aware of the reasons for his partner's hostility. "Apparently, Mei asked me to do the talking. I would have asked you had I had a choice in the matter." This was far from the truth, obviously, and Damian felt like an idiot for having said that when he saw the scowl on Kakuzu's face.

"Of course you would have, like you did every other time before this."

At this, Damian frowned. "Look, that was only twice before. And you were out on a business trip. It's not often that I get the opportunity—"

Kakuzu cut him off with: "Well, this time I was clearly _not_ on a business trip." Everybody at the agency was well aware that it was Kakuzu's forte to interview any newcomer, be it a model or a custodian. He had a gift for making the most economically beneficial decisions and picking out people who would contribute sufficiently to the agency. It was common knowledge that if Kakuzu interviewed you, you would have to be ready to impress him with what you would give the agency in return. It was an unspoken rumor among the staff that if a newcomer were to successfully overcome the hurdle of impressing 'the boss', they would find that working their way to the top of their careers henceforth would be a breeze.

Kakuzu was well aware of his status at the agency. Needless to say, it filled him with a sense of secret pride that he was the main reason behind the prosperity of the company. He filled the shoes of the agency's manager, while Damian fit more into the frame of manager for the models. Damian specialized in finding work for their models, grooming them and teaching them the tricks of the trade, training them to succeed in their careers. While he earned a fair share of the company credit, Kakuzu claimed a larger portion because he was responsible for initially picking out the models and clientele. Damian worked within the boundaries Kakuzu had picked for him. And this fact irked Damian quite a bit.

"You seemed busy enough," came the snide remark.

Damian had to take a step back, however, as Kakuzu slammed his fist against the frame of one of the shelves, turning now to lay that dangerously cold emerald glare on him. "You _really_ shouldn't be speaking of Mei like that." Damian understood that it was a threat and, although riled up himself, decided not to push the subject further. Despite the slightly unjust conditions, he didn't want to lose his job just yet.

Damian was in the process of leaving when Hidan walked into the shelved area. He managed to squeeze past Damian, but stopped in his tracks in between the two men. It didn't take him more than half a second to feel the heavy atmosphere in there. As he watched, the taller, dark skinned man turned back to the shelves, hastily rummaging through them, while the lighter skinned, curly haired man who had spoken to him earlier at the onsen (and whom he knew as Damian) placed a hand on his shoulder. Hidan glanced to his side, eyeing the hand resting on his shoulder. He wasn't a big fan of physical contact from strangers…

"Kakuzu, this is Hidan. As you are aware, I have already spoken to him, but I figured it would be best if you talked to him as well. We can talk about his contract later." With that, Damian released his hold on Hidan's shoulder, and turned to leave, walking out of the bathing station altogether.

Hidan eyed Kakuzu, grinning to himself as he watched the man slam basket after basket in a futile attempt to locate his clothes (and control his anger). It didn't take Hidan more than five attempts before his found _his_ clothes, though. "Why don't you try the fourth row over here?"

Kakuzu quirked an eyebrow, turning to face the opposite wall of shelves Hidan seemed to be talking about. He glanced over at the man, using the moment as an opportunity to take in his physique. He could now see below Hidan's pectorals, and the towel the man wore hung dangerously low on his hips, perfectly sculpted abs and pelvic region tempting the viewer to hook a finger into that skimpy fabric and take it apart. Kakuzu quickly averted his gaze and nodded, going to look into the baskets on the fourth row. Hidan let a smirk grace his features at Kakuzu's reaction.

It took only three attempts before Kakuzu found his clothes. He shot a suspicious glance at Hidan then. How had he known exactly where to find them?

Hidan caught the look and chuckled. "What's that look for? T'was only a suggestion. Found mine on the same row, so figured yours might be there as well. Seeing as how you haven't had any luck with that side…"

_Fair enough_, Kakuzu thought. "Hn." Bundling up his clothes under his arm, he made his way to the exit… only to be stopped by Hidan who had now sandwiched himself between Kakuzu and the doorframe. Kakuzu raised an annoyed eyebrow, looking down at him, silently demanding an explanation.

Hidan only grinned. "Damian told me I had to speak to you. That right there didn't seem like conversation. So. When's it gonna be?"

Fighting the urge to hit him, Kakuzu took in a deep breath. Yes, he still had to hold a conference with Hidan. What a bother. "Will you be available tomorrow morning at nine?"

"Nine? Yeah, sure." He could do nine. He was glad it wasn't earlier; he needed his beauty sleep.

"Then meet me at our office down on 34th Street. You know where that is, I presume?"

"I do."

"Good." Kakuzu stared down at Hidan, waiting for him to make a move. But it seemed as though Hidan did not entertain any thoughts of doing so.

Hidan didn't. He quite liked his current spot, sandwiched between Kakuzu and the doorframe. The thin fabric that made up their towels did little to hide the fact that their hips were a little too close to each other's for comfort. Well, Hidan wasn't really complaining. He could feel how big Kakuzu really was behind that towel, and a slight movement in the guise of trying to adjust to the position confirmed his initial assessment. Hidan moved again, rolling his hips slightly into Kakuzu's, passing it off as unintentional. He had to bite back a groan – there certainly was a _lot_ of man down there…

Kakuzu felt Hidan's every movement and stiffened. And when Hidan brought a hand down to the knot on his towel in an attempt to make sure it stayed on, Kakuzu panicked. One hand went to keep his own towel in place as he stepped away as quickly as possible, making as less physical contact as he could manage when squeezing out of there.

Hidan couldn't hide another smirk that spread across his features as he watched the other man walk out of the room in long, hurried strides. And when Kakuzu was safely out of the way, he closed his eyes and leaned against the doorframe, letting his head fall back slightly. He let one hand travel down his neck, dragging it further down to his chest, abs, past the knot on his towel, and finally, parting his legs about two inches from their current position, grabbed his crotch.

A slow, satisfied smile broke out on his face…


	2. Chapter 2

I-I... I've never done this before D: This was a monster |: I had planned on including another scene but decided this was too long already and had to cut it off

I was rather hesitant putting this next chapter up... .

Tell me what you think so far. (There will be a development on Hidan and Kakuzu's 'relationship' in the next chapter.)

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><p>Tomorrow came blaring through the curtains in the form of intense sunlight. Kakuzu frowned in his sleep, the rays burning into his closed eyelids. In an attempt to buy more sleep time, he turned his face away from the heat, only to find it rather difficult to breathe. He frowned again, nose crinkling as he tried to hold back a sneeze.<p>

Eventually, unable to contain himself any longer, he turned to face the sunlight streaming into the room and finally let out the irritation to his nose with a loud sneeze. Needless to say, this woke him up, and he lay on the bed squinting at the sun beams streaming in through the crack in the curtains. Apart from the spot on the bed that was illuminated, the rest of the room was still in darkness. Sniffling, Kakuzu glanced at the sun peeping over the cityscape. It looked orange, which meant it was probably around six thirty in the morning. He yawned, a little upset that he probably had only about half an hour left to sleep in.

Kakuzu felt something stir next to him under the covers.

Tearing his gaze from the glimpse of the early morning sun, he turned to stare up at the grey ceiling. It had been white last night when the lights were turned on… or maybe even a shade of green, he wasn't too sure. For all he knew, it could have even been pink. But it looked grey now, and as boring as any other ceiling would have been. His eyes followed the floral pattern on the wallpaper that ran across the borders of the room, blending into the chiseled carvings on the edges of the ceiling. Everything looked unfamiliar…

He felt himself beginning to fall asleep once again.

That was when he felt a smooth leg snake up against his own. Turning his head to the right, he recognized the source of the obstruction to his breathing: Mei's bountiful fiery red hair.

He turned to face the ceiling again, bringing a hand up to his face and frowning behind his fingers. So they'd hooked up last night. This explained the floral patterns on the ceiling. How come he didn't remember a shred of it? Had he been so wasted last night or was he just too tired to remember right now? He didn't know. He couldn't recall a single event since after dinner, which they'd had with the rest of the crew at the hotel. He recalled he had a serving of pasta alla carbonara, and some wine… Had it been the wine? He groaned. Even thinking about it was giving him a headache. And he lay there thinking about it for quite some time…

He extended his left arm, blindly searching for the hint of wood that would tell him he had reached the bedside table. Once his fingers eventually gripped the hard edge, he rolled over halfway, reaching out further for his phone. Mei's leg caught in his movement, and she stirred, humming softly as her perfect body closed the gap between them on the bed and fit snugly against his. She slipped her arm across his side, hand skimming his chest, fingers softly caressing the warm contours of his abs.

Kakuzu finally found his phone. Returning to his pillow, he pulled up the planner on his BlackBerry PlayBook and scrolled down the list of things to be done this week. Smack at the very top of his list of things to get done by today was 'Meeting with Hidan – 9:00am'. Zooming out of the current screen, he looked to the numbers at the very top of the display. 6:55am. He didn't really have much time, did he? And where were they? He hoped to high heavens that they were at Mei's place or somewhere close by, or he would most definitely be late. Lack of punctuality, in his opinion, was very unprofessional. Kakuzu stuck his phone under his pillow and sighed. Perhaps it was time to get up.

…Or not.

"Mm… Is it morning already?" Her arm now held him in a tight embrace, her face pressed into his back, one perfectly sculpted leg intertwining in his. She moved her leg up slowly, dragging it against his skin like butter.

Kakuzu turned, letting her resettle on his chest, now halfway climbing onto him. Getting comfortable under her weight, he reached up to push the hair away from her pretty face and gave her a lazy smile. "Almost seven."

Mei turned to face the window, squinting at the beams of sunlight that streamed in through the crack in the curtains, now a little more intense than when Kakuzu had first woken up. The sun had risen further since when Kakuzu had taken a look at it, and those beams now hit his bare chest full on, creating ripples of gold on his copper skin. Mei's turquoise eyes drank in the sight beneath her, her lips curling into a genuine smile as she watched the light dance on him. "A little too early to be running away now, is it?"

He laughed. "Running away? I was only going to get to work. That reminds me…" He glanced at the room around him. "You wouldn't happen to know where we are, would you?"

It was Mei's turn to laugh now. She pulled herself up to straddle his waist, letting the comforter slide down her shoulders and pool on his legs. Kakuzu watched as the fabric slipped away and gracefully folded itself on his body. It amazed him how graceful she was in everything she did; she didn't even have to try. Perhaps that was one of the reasons why she was so good at what she did. She held a lot of class in her words and actions, Kakuzu noted. It was, he found, something that could not be taught. This he knew from watching Damian try and imbue this sense of class and elegance into their young recruits. The closest Damian had ever come was nowhere near Mei's natural disposition.

Kakuzu registered the cold morning air at that moment when the comforter fell off them, immediately regretting his lack of clothing. "We're at my friend's house," she said, smiling as usual. "Don't you remember anything?"

Kakuzu frowned. A friend's house? He tried his best to squeeze out any information from his memory about their current location but failed, closing his eyes and giving up as he let his head sink deeper into the pillows. He hoped Mei was right about this being a friend's house. He didn't want it to end like the last time: they had woken up on her ex-boyfriend's couch, just in time to greet him when he'd stepped inside after a week's holiday to Barbados. Needless to say, Kakuzu's first meeting with the man had been_quite_awkward. "No, I don't remember. You sure it's a friend's house?"

She brought her hands down to his stomach, pushing them forward and stretching out over him like a cat. As she moved forward, her breasts glided over his chest. At first they were just a brush of her nipples. But as she lowered herself over him, those full, yet soft, mounds of flesh pressed into his hardened muscle. He bit his lip softly at the feeling. "I am certain," she said in response to his previous question. Angling her head just enough to be able to reach under his jaw, she nipped him. "Do you doubt me?"

He turned his head slightly away from her, giving her more access to his neck and jaw. "I have every reason to, after the last time you took me to 'a friend's place'…"

She feigned hurt at his remark and pouted against his neck. "That one time was a mistake. You can't keep holding it against me."

"No, Mei. That one time wasn't just a mistake. It was a _disaster_." He brought his hands up to her calves, following the toned muscle there and dragging his hands up to her thighs. He gripped her just below the curve of her ass. And she had the most perfect ass curve he'd seen on anyone to date…

"You're not exactly making me feel so great this morning." Letting her knees spread out on the mattress, wrinkling the sheets even more, Mei lowered herself straight on to Kakuzu's groin, looking up at him through locks of red hair that partially covered her face. She still lay sprawled on his chest, turquoise now shimmering like a calm lagoon under the sunlight.

Kakuzu recognized that look. He knew full well what it meant. "Mei…" It meant she wanted to play. "I really have to get to work. You know how much I hate being late."

"Mm." She flexed her muscles as she stretched once more and then dragged her upper body down his chest. Her eyes locked gazes with his. As much as he wanted to tear his eyes away from her, there was just something about her expression that kept him there. He felt like a man imprisoned. Not by chains or within the confines of a cage, though, because it didn't feel dreary at all. No, it was quite the opposite. He just felt as if he had stepped into the Hotel California the Eagles were singing about and just… couldn't leave.

Kakuzu knew full well that an excess of anything was never good for you. Well, not counting money into the equation, of course. An excess of money was always a good thing to have. In fact, in his opinion, there _was_no such thing as an 'excess of money'. It was the one thing in this world that you just couldn't have too much of. It was also the only thing that could save you from a rut in today's materialistic society.

However, it wasn't money that was giving Kakuzu cause for concern. It was Mei. Lately, she seemed to be all over him, and they'd been at it twice a day sometimes. He wasn't really complaining, but the pattern that seemed to be emerging had started to worry him. A relationship was the last thing on his mind, and he was sure he wouldn't be entertaining such thoughts any time in the near future either. He had his work; that was more than enough for him. He had a great job, a great apartment, a sexy grey Rolls Royce Ghost, and all the freedom in the world to do as he pleased after hours. His life was perfect. Why invite complications?

Yet, despite all the red flags he seemed to take notice of, he still found himself unable to bring his gaze away from hers whenever she looked at him like that. It was the same look she was giving him right now. He swallowed thickly, feeling rather powerless under that gaze. Curse his hormones!

Maintaining the eye contact, Mei sent him an unwavering sultry smile as she watched his reaction to her breasts firmly pressing into him. She knew full well that under the thick blanket of self-discipline, he was just a man. And she had plenty of assets and charm to bring any man to his knees. Mei gave, but she would never give it all. She kept her heart locked away, safe from the world that would shatter it once again. It had taken her too long to pick up the pieces and put them together that there was no way she was going to let it happen once more.

"We have no shoots planned for until eleven. Why are you in such a hurry to leave, Kakuzu?" She slid back by an inch, ass now firmly positioned on his groin.

Kakuzu pushed his head back into the pillow, frowning in an attempt to maintain his self control. "I scheduled an appointment with the new model for nine today."

"Oh? And you didn't inform me?" She clicked her tongue in mock disapproval. He didn't even have to look at her to know that she was smiling. "How unlike you, Kakuzu. Are you still mad at me for letting Damian do the talking?" She passed him a coy smile before pushing down on his groin and grinding slowly down on his manhood.

Kakuzu let out a sharp breath. "No, I just… I might have not been sober enough to remember. And I'm not mad at you…"

She could feel him harden against her flesh, his length pressed into and sliding in between her cheeks. His fingers dug into her thighs.

Spurred on by his reaction, she flexed her well toned gluteus muscles, squeezing him as she slid back and forth on him. Mei threw her head back, reveling in the feel of him against her, moving continuously, up and down, up and down… "Mmh…" At one point, she slid further back, pressing harder into him. Her gluteus muscles weren't the only part of her body doing all the work now. In fact, she began to angle her hips, rolling them into him, a more sought after place rubbing comfortably against him. A little too comfortable perhaps, because she soon found herself moaning low, slicking him up with every movement.

Kakuzu groaned, feeling how outrageously wet she'd become, moving around like that, spreading it all over him as she did so. One hand left her thigh and went to cup her breast, squeezing, kneading. She moaned again, louder this time.

Soon, both his hands were occupied. She brought her arms back and placed them on his thighs, steadying herself as she continued to grind against him, now in figure eights. Finding the pleasure insufficient, she eventually brought her hand to herself, trailing those slender fingers down her perfect belly and until they finally passed her navel. She grew louder almost immediately, touching herself now as she moved against him.

There was no way he could contain himself after _that_particular display. He brought his hands down from her breasts and gripped her waist firmly, lifting her off him and throwing her down onto the mattress in one fluid motion. The next moment, he was on top of her.

Perhaps today was going to be one of those exceptions where he went to work late after all…

x.X.X.x

Damian paced the black and white chequered granite floor of the agency, phone in hand and contemplating whether or not to call up Kakuzu and tell him he was late. Irritated footsteps clicked in a straight line leading up to Mei's office, and then turned around to follow the same course back to Kakuzu's. The pattern repeated as he kept moving from office to office, face set in a scowl very uncharacteristic of him. He knew exactly what was keeping Kakuzu away from work, and he grit his teeth, powerless to do anything about it.

Had Kakuzu been oversleeping, he could have pestered him with incessant phone calls to all his numbers until he woke (and kept him company with name-calling on his answering machine to help him get dressed faster). Had Kakuzu been stuck in traffic somewhere, he could have persuaded him to leave the car in the middle of the road and jog to work. Had Kakuzu been caught in some never-ending conversation with another client or a member of the press, he would have sent a hit man to take the offending person down and let Kakuzu go. There really was no limit to what Damian could have done had Kakuzu been in a different situation. But he knew it would be pushing the limits if he called Kakuzu up to tell him to stop sleeping in with the boss and come down to work. The only thing he _could_do at the moment was to grip his phone tight and pace around the room, heels clacking and creases forming on his neatly ironed suit as he gripped the fabric in his frustration.

Unable to sit around and wait any longer, Damian plucked up all his courage and dialed Kakuzu's number.

x.X.X.x

It took five rings before Kakuzu put his hand under his pillow and pulled out his phone. The caller ID said it was Damian and he groaned, moaning soon after as Mei rolled her hips particularly hard into him, driving him as deep inside her as possible. He pressed the call button.

"Damian… haah… haah… This is a bad time to be calling. It—haah… better be good."

Damian scrunched up his nose at Kakuzu's panting. "You're late," he said simply.

"Yeah yeah… I'm a little mmnh— busy at the moment." Mei leaned down and tried to take the phone away from him. Kakuzu pushed her hand aside, rolling his hips into her. That was enough to distract her from stealing his phone.

"I can tell." Damian sighed. "Well, you have an appointment with the new guy at 9.00."

"I know, I know. I'll get there in time, don't worry. Nngh oh yeah, _mmnh_fuck~!"

Damian raised an eyebrow. "You don't _sound_like you will any time soon…"

"I will. Just tell him to wait for me haah… at the lounge till I get there if I'm late."

Annoyed, Damian pinched the bridge of his nose, now sitting on the edge of Kakuzu's desk. "How close are you?"

Kakuzu brought his phone in front of him and looked at it incredulously. "Fuck off, Damian!" And with that he ended the call, tossing his phone onto the mattress.

Damian listened to the dial tone for a few seconds before returning his phone to its resting display. _This was going well._The time on the small screen read 8.25am. Kakuzu still wasn't here.

x.X.X.x

Hidan pulled on a simple black t-shirt to go with his jeans. He reached into the neckline of the t-shirt and pulled out his necklace, letting the heavy pendant dangle and contrast with the solid black fabric of his t-shirt. After one last glance at the mirror to check if his hair was in place, he grabbed his keys and strode towards the door. A pat to his jeans pockets told him that his wallet and phone were with him. Resume and a half complete portfolio in hand, Hidan slammed his front door shut, turning the key in the lock. He pocketed the keys before turning to head downstairs and out of the apartment building.

There was no denying his excitement; it was written all over his face. Even his gait seemed to be a tad light-hearted than the usual lackadaisical pace. He wasn't just excited about being called in for a formal interview with one of the most successful modeling agencies in the country. No, really, he was more interested in getting to meet the head manager, Kakuzu. Just thinking about the man made his head spin. And on his way down the stairs, Hidan felt the blood rush to his solar plexus once again at the memory of the little incident at the bathing station yesterday.

When he arrived at 34th Street, it was 8.55am. _Just in time,_he told himself, walking past the two large glass doors that were held open for him as he approached the building. Hidan took a moment to soak up his surroundings. The walls seemed pretty interesting, covered in photos and paintings, some related to the projects the company had completed in its history. To be honest, the agency wasn't that old: it would be celebrating its sixth anniversary later this year. But its fame had risen since day one, and despite it still being a young company, it did have a proud history. That would explain the plaques and awards in the Hall of Fame, he figured, glancing to his left and noticing the engraved plaques. Hidan also noted how perfectly he could see his reflection on the floor of the building. It was so polished that it almost shone, distracting him for a bit.

Eventually, with directions, and a little bit of help from the employees, he navigated his way to a lounge that faced the conference rooms. He put down his resume and portfolio on the coffee table and sat down in one of the black leather couches, sinking into the cool material and making himself comfortable. Looking around him, he appreciated the simple and practical furnishing. Nothing looked too expensive.

Yes, but that wasn't the point. Hidan pulled out his phone and glanced at the time: it was ten minutes past already. Kakuzu was officially late. Or was he busy interviewing someone else?

Hidan glanced towards the conference room again, noting how the room was still dark. The lights weren't on, which most probably meant Kakuzu was not conducting an interview in there. Had he already picked someone else and was showing them around? Hidan panicked a little as this thought crossed his mind. He immediately stood up, turning every which way to try and discern an employee he could ask a few questions from.

"Looking for someone?"

Hidan spun around in the direction of the voice, finding himself face-to-face with Damian. He felt the butterflies in his stomach settle a bit. He'd half expected it to be Kakuzu.

"Yeah. I was supposed to meet Kakuzu at nine."

"Ah, yes." Damian gestured for Hidan to take a seat. "He missed breakfast this morning so he decided to go out and get some on the way. Got caught in rush hour traffic."

Hidan sat down, sinking into the comforts of the couch again. He raised an eyebrow at Damian's explanation for why Kakuzu was late, though. "Couldn't he have ordered something instead of going out there himself?" He glanced suspiciously at one of the employees who presently came to them with a pot of coffee and some fresh croissants. "…Or stuck around to have breakfast at work…"

Damian felt his ears heat up. He was sure the excuse would have been more believable than telling Hidan Kakuzu had left to the hospital because his dear old grandmother had had a stroke. Damian knew for a fact that Kakuzu never even answered his grandmother's calls! In fact, the only time he would ever consider going to see her would be when she passed away… and that too not because he was grieving, but because he would want to settle his cut in her will with her lawyer.

"Well, let's just say Kakuzu felt like bacon and eggs today." Damian sat down in an armchair opposite Hidan and reached out for one of the croissants.

"Way to kick start your day with a plate full of obesity."

"Maybe, but I wouldn't call Kakuzu obese. He's in good shape, I assure you." Damian sent him a smile, biting into his croissant not soon after.

Hidan didn't need anybody to tell him Kakuzu was in good shape. One glance at the man was enough to tell him that he was in _great_shape. Perfect, in his opinion. Just before the employee left them, Hidan stopped the girl with: "Hey, do you guys have bottled water?"

The girl flashed him a smile. "Yes, sir."

"Mineral water, chilled," he added.

The girl hesitated. "Well, I'm not sure if we have mineral water, but I will check."

"Are you kidding me? You're not sure if this place has any mineral water? Hell yeah you better check if you do, and if you fucking don't, I suggest you buy some. What do you feed your models? Pop?" _Totally unhealthy._

The girl seemed obviously taken aback at the man's attitude, straightening up and looking at Damian for back-up. Damian only cocked his head to a side by a bit and told her to find some mineral water for their guest. She nodded in his direction curtly and carried the tray back to the tea room, mumbling curses under her breath.

Hidan picked up a croissant and inspected it, breaking one of the 'arms' and watching how the soft inside broke apart and let fresh steam waft into the air. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure that the croissant had quite a bit of butter in it. He took two bites out of the pastry, leaving exactly half uneaten on his plate. Damian, now reaching for a second, raised an eyebrow at him as he watched him place the half eaten pastry back on the plate.

Hidan noticed the look and smirked. "Gotta lay off the fat, maintain a strict diet." To this, Damian nodded, picking up his second croissant and biting into it anyway. Just then, his phone vibrated in his pocket. Wiping his fingers on a paper towel, he dove right into his pocket and pulled out his phone, excusing himself and getting up immediately when he recognized the number on the caller ID.

Making his way to the hallway that led to their offices, he answered the call, croissant and plate in his other hand. "Where the hell _are_you?"

"I have no idea! Can you tell me how to get to 34th from 65th?"

Damian felt his eye twitch in annoyance. "How the fuck did you manage to get all the way to 65th?"

"I told you, I don't know! I woke up in somebody else's house and had to find my way here. Wait…" Kakuzu peered out the window, looking for a landmark. "There's a Target outlet to my right. And a school. St. Margaret's. Where do I turn? Color lights up ahead."

Damian sighed. "Keep to your left, turn into Bowie Street. That should get you to 45th." Unable to resist, he added: "It was just a matter of taking Ashworth and getting on to 34th. Shouldn't have taken you ten minutes, but look where you drove yourself to."

"How was I supposed to know there was a way in to Ashworth?" Kakuzu moved into the left most lane. "And how the hell did _you_know there was an Ashworth near where I woke up?"

"That's because you stayed over at my place."

There was an awkward silence on Kakuzu's end that lasted for about four seconds before he said: "What?" Good grief! Why did he ever let Mei lead him into this? This was absolutely ridiculous. It was embarrassing and…_Damian's house?_Kakuzu just couldn't wrap his mind around it. It just couldn't be real.

It took him only two seconds since that last thought crossed his mind to crash his phone into the window as he swerved to prevent a collision with a truck.

Damian heard the tires screech in the background, and then had to listen to an awful crunch before the line went dead. "Kakuzu?" There was obviously no answer. Needless to say, he panicked, running down the hallway, past Hidan in the lounge, and straight to Nigel's office. Hidan stood up immediately, watching Damian run right past him, worry written all over his face. _Shit_, he thought. Had Kakuzu got into some kind of trouble? Did this mean he wasn't going to get the job after all?

Damian barged right into Nigel's office space, ignoring the sign that asked to knock before entering. Nigel swiveled around in his chair, not really expecting anyone to walk in on him in the middle of a WoW session. He quickly minimized the screen.

"Find Kakuzu," the manager said, panting. Nigel raised an eyebrow. "Use the company tracking system, damnit!"

Shrugging, Nigel opened up the relevant program, typed in Kakuzu's license plate number, and waited for a response. It didn't take long before the software detected Kakuzu's vehicle and a green light flashed at his location. It looked like Kakuzu wasn't moving. Nigel leaned back in his seat, bored already. Damian wasn't even going to tell him what was up.

Damian peered into the screen and memorized the coordinates, dialing 911 soon afterwards. "Yeah, hello. I need an ambulance up at the intersection between 65th and Bowie. My friend's just met with an accident and he isn't answering his phone."

This information piqued Nigel's interest. Ambulance, huh? This could only mean that Kakuzu had gone and met with some accident - a highly unlikely event, given that Kakuzu was a very careful driver.

x.X.X.x

Fifteen minutes later, Hidan rapped on Nigel's door, peering into the room through the opening. "What the fuck just happened? Is everything alright?"

Both men turned: Nigel in his seat, and Damian sitting on the edge of Nigel's table.

"Ah, I'm really sorry." Damian got down from the table, closing the door behind him as he proceeded to walk Hidan back to the lounge. "Kakuzu's had a small… accident. That's all. Nothing to worry about, though. I'm sure he'll be fine."

"Tch. And am I supposed to hang around here and wait for him to return? He isn't dead, is he?"

"No, I hope not! Well, you could—" Here Damian was interrupted by another phone call. Pulling his phone out of his pocket immediately, he breathed a sigh of relief when he realized it was Kakuzu's number. "Hey—"

"Why the hell is the ambulance here? You should have called the insurance company instead!"

"How was I supposed to know you weren't dead or injured?"

"I bet you secretly wish I was."

Damian sighed, exasperated. "Look, are you getting here or not? We can't keep him waiting here forever."

"Tell him I'll be there in half an hour. _Keep_him there, damnit. We don't want to lose him."

"Yes, but how…?"

"Let him read the contract until I get there."

"Fine."

Damian led Hidan to the conference room soon after he hung up. Pushing the thick contract towards the model, he said: "Kakuzu is alive and will be here shortly to see you. Make sure you go over every detail on that document until then."

Hidan took a seat in one of the chairs at the long, black table in the middle of the room. He brought the document towards him. "What the hell is it?" It looked like a lot of reading…

"Your contract."

Hidan's eyes lit up. "Oh?" Wait, did that mean he had already landed the job? He turned to ask Damian, just to make sure, but the man cut him off just as he opened his mouth to speak.

"Congratulations." He was at the door now. "Oh and make sure you read up on it thoroughly."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." Damian, now outside the door and in the middle of shutting it behind him, flashed Hidan a smile. "He's bound to test you on it."

The soft click of the latch told Hidan that he was now alone. "Who tests you on a contract?" he mumbled, reading the first line of the first page out of thirty five pages.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** O-oh god! This monster is finally done with! That chapter was so long and I _still_ had a few more scenes to add... BUT I CUT THEM OUT ;A;  
>And we finally have some actual KuzuHidan smutayyyy smut |:<br>I now have the urge to go and huggle Damian, that poor baby~

Well. Tell me what you think XD Chapter 4 should be up when I'm done with grading papers and school stuff~

* * *

><p>The familiar slamming of the front doors alerted Damian to Kakuzu's presence. Glancing at the time, he realized it was almost a quarter to eleven. Kakuzu had been late a couple of times in the four years Damian had known him, but never had he been <em>this<em> late. He figured Kakuzu was going to be particularly grumpy now. More so today than ever, especially because his beloved Rolls Royce had been scratched in the accident. Damian regarded the sound of his heels clacking against the polished granite as a cue to grab another cup of coffee.

He leaned against the counter, pouring out the usual black coffee straight from the coffee machine that was hitched to the wall in the tea room. There was nothing special about the coffee they had here: plain, black, cheap. What went into the coffee machine every two hours was the same stuff you would find sitting on the shelves of any Walmart store. The sugar barely tasted like sugar and the cream never really creamed unless you added about eight sachets. Milk was either low-fat, or non-fat altogether, and Damian wondered why he even bothered adding any milk to the blend, sometimes. It didn't taste of anything, really. Furthermore, coffee tasted like plastic if left in for too long. That usually happened around three in the afternoon on Sundays, when you were the only one at work and the guy you asked to bring in your tea had stepped outside to make out with his girlfriend in the parking lot. And Damian usually worked Sundays…

Sometimes he envied the employees at the other notable modeling agencies he'd visited. Some people went to great lengths to instill a sense of elegance and class in their workspace as a means of reflecting what they did, but with the Mizukage Modelling Agency, everything was toned down to be just practical. Not a cent was used in excess of the budget when it came to things like coffee, water, and the basic refreshments. Mei would occasionally throw a party or treat her employees with something special, but that was only Mei, and she would willingly do such things out of the goodness of her heart. But Kakuzu was in charge of the finances and general management of the entire company, and he maintained that unless they were spending on a project, it was company policy to exercise thrift.

Mouth forming a thin line, Damian made sure that Kakuzu's coffee was as black and tasteless as he could make it. He didn't think Kakuzu deserved a rich cup of coffee for the crap he made them drink here.

When the coffee filled up to about three quarters of the way to the brim, he stopped, swirling the contents. It took him a few tries to get the mug to swirl right: Kakuzu had the weirdest mug he had ever come across. It was red and had a cartoon version of a lion stretching towards the base. The animal's tail curved up to form the handle, which happened to be ridiculously small, and the detail given to its ceramic fur made holding it a little painful. How Kakuzu got his fingers through that space, Damian could never understand. When asked about where he had got it from, Kakuzu had replied that it was from a garage sale. He had picked it over a blue mug with a swan's neck bent into a handle. Apparently, he did not feel comfortable holding an animal by its neck and instead had found that holding one by its tail would feel more humane, so the lion won by default. Also, it cost only twenty five cents.

Damian held the lion by its tail and stepped out into the hallway, meeting Kakuzu halfway there. Before his partner could even open his mouth to suggest he let the coffee boy know he wanted a cup, Damian pushed the mug into Kakuzu's hands. Kakuzu stared down at the mug for as long as he could hold on to the base without burning his palms, and then nodded, accepting the coffee and proceeding to gulp down a good portion of it in one go. His face contorted into an expression of painful distaste. Damian resisted the urge to smirk.

"He's had plenty of time to read the document three times over. You should go in there and quiz him on it."

Kakuzu narrowed his eyes, not really amused by the comments. Sure, he was running late. But he really didn't need to be reminded every few minutes. If Damian continued, Kakuzu was pretty sure the man would be leaving the building without a face tonight. He slurped up the remaining coffee, face contorting into the same pained expression as it burned his throat on the way down. "Is Nigel in?" He began to walk in the direction of Nigel's office.

Damian followed. "Of course he's in. He's making use of our high speed internet to gather minions for his Horde army."

Kakuzu rolled his eyes. "Didn't know he switched from the Alliance."

Confused, Damian glanced at Kakuzu. "Alliance?"

His partner shrugged, dropping the conversation altogether. If he had elaborated on the subject further, he would have had to expose the fact that he had spent a few hours with Nigel playing as a night elf on World of Warcraft. To be honest, he had found it rather interesting, if not a little bit addictive. They had used the company server to log in to their own accounts from different computers, and then teamed up to raid another group. Kakuzu remembered being rather upset with how little of the loot he could carry, and had gone on a virtual rampage slaying mushroom people in the hope that one of them might leave him a bag or two to put in all the loot.

They were now at Nigel's door, and Kakuzu pushed his way in, disregarding the notice that asked to knock first.

Nigel swiveled in their direction, scowled, and pulled his chair back into position in front of the computer. All that time spent designing those signs to keep Kakuzu out of his office just proved to be futile. Nothing would stop Kakuzu from entering whenever he wanted to, even if he installed an electric fence, laser traps, and a space cannon.

Minimizing the screen (which was tuned to WoW) and pulling up a more work-related program with one hand, Nigel reached out with his free hand and pulled out a black folder. This he handed over to Kakuzu, not once looking up at him. Kakuzu took the folder from him, placing his empty coffee mug on a stack of papers behind him. He leaned against the intern's cluttered desk.

Kakuzu was right when he assumed that Nigel would have Hidan's complete bio and background ready by morning. This was every reason to allow the kid to play whatever he wanted – Nigel always got the work done on time. If Nigel asked Kakuzu for better coffee, he would have willingly made arrangements for it. But Nigel didn't drink coffee (much to Damain's chagrin) and opted instead to bring his own supply of Pepsi to work. He lived on Pepsi and Cheetos. Again, Kakuzu had no complaints: none of what he brought to work was out of the company budget.

Kakuzu skimmed through the contents of the folder, pausing to admire some of the photos of the model. It was then that he realized the man had violet eyes. They seemed to change color with the angle of light, ranging from violet to hues of pink and one instance of almost blood red. A few of the bio data made him raise his eyebrows, though. "Hn. Thanks, Nigel." He pushed himself away from the intern's table, casually making his way out of the cluttered office and into the hallway, en route to the conference room. Damian followed quietly, but turned to his office halfway instead of continuing on to the conference room.

Nigel pulled up his WoW screen again and typed in an apology to his online friend for disappearing in the middle of the battle. When eventually he reached out for some cheat codes he had written down the other day, he noticed Kakuzu's red lion mug sitting on a stack of documents he needed to hand over to Mei today. Pursing his lips and setting them in a straight line across his gaunt face, he lifted the mug, only to find that he had to peel it away from the paper, a dark ring of coffee stain on the right hand corner of the document mocking all his hard work.

x.X.X.x

Kakuzu attempted to iron down some rather notable wrinkles in his shirt with his hand before he stepped into the conference room. It was rather embarrassing having to conduct an interview wearing the same clothes he dined out in the previous night. He was sure the smells of the Italian restaurant and all it had to offer were trapped in the fabric. For all he knew, he might smell like pizza and Mei's perfume to Hidan. Even his pants were creased, and no amount of smoothing them down would tame the stubborn creases. In Kakuzu's opinion, Damian should seriously think about investing in an iron; he couldn't find one at his place. He couldn't help blushing again, though. Why had he agreed to spend the night with Mei at _Damian's_ place? He wasn't even sure how loud they'd been. Chances are they probably were pretty loud, and Damian might have heard everything. Kakuzu screwed his eyes shut, forcing away the memory of it all.

Having pushed away any thoughts that involved Damian listening in on them the previous night, Kakuzu opened his eyes, took in a deep breath, straightened up, and held the folder against his shirt, covering up the stubborn creases as best he could. Peeping in through the crack in the door he had opened by a fraction, he could clearly see Hidan's sliver mop of hair just slightly peaking above the back of the chair. From where he stood, it looked as though Hidan seemed to be still reading that contract. He had to take a moment to collect himself once again when he remembered what had ensued between this new model and himself at the bathing station the other day. _Could this day get any worse?_

Kakuzu quietly shut the door behind him and quickly strode over to a chair opposite Hidan, hoping that the model wouldn't notice his less than impeccable attire this morning.

"Sorry I'm late," he said, pulling out a chair and sitting down in it, not bothering to lean over and shake Hidan's hand. He placed the folder he brought with him neatly on the table in front of him, at perfect right angles to the edge. In fact, he adjusted the folder a few times until it was sitting exactly the way he wanted it to be. That was a minor case of OCD Kakuzu was working on – on his own, and not with any psychologist's guidance, mind. Kakuzu maintained he couldn't afford to spend on counseling when he had to deal with maintenance and gas for his Rolls. When Mei came close to proving him wrong without a doubt one day, he threw in a vaguely related fact that taking care of the Rolls made him feel manlier than seeing a shrink. Hence, he opted to willingly spend on the car and promised to try and take care of his minor disorder on his own.

Hidan eyed him, noticing the crumpled shirt front. He took it to be a result of the accident Kakuzu had had this morning and assumed it was the seatbelt that caused all those wrinkles. But that didn't explain the wrinkles on his sleeves… Kakuzu was suddenly conscious of the other man's eyes on him and he fidgeted in his seated, tugging at his cuffs and collar, pulling his shirt down at the waist and smoothing down the front again.

Hidan raised an eyebrow. That shirt was too wrinkled to have been in an accident first. "I would have said 'it's fine' if you hadn't been more than two hours late." He frowned up at Kakuzu, slightly offended that the man had disregarded their interview for some romping early in the morning. He had a good idea who he was with, too. He'd seen them at the onsen together yesterday. Hidan would have forgiven Kakuzu had he _really_ had a plate full of obesity instead of sex. Seriously.

Kakuzu sighed. "I know. There was an emergency I had to look into early this morning and then I met with an accident on the way here."

Hidan rolled his eyes. "Emergency my ass."

Kakuzu arched an eyebrow at that, not entirely sure he was liking this guy's attitude. But then again, what right did he have in a situation like this to hold him against it? It was his fault he was late, and Hidan had every reason to be pissed off at him. Punctuality was one of the key attributes you were expected to have when in the fashion and modeling industry. "Alright, let's get this over and done with, then?" He eyed Hidan through the corner of his eye as he opened up the folder and pulled out Hidan's information.

"Yeah, we can. Just that I'm real thirsty right now." Hidan turned to peer outside through the gaps in the blinds. "I asked for a bottle of chilled mineral water two hours ago…"

Kakuzu exhaled, annoyed. "I'll remind Anna to get it for you." He pressed a button on the phone that sat in the middle of the finely polished ebony table. A girl on the other end answered the call. "Anna, could you get our guest a bottle of chilled mineral water, please? Thank you." He didn't wait for any response from her, but cut the call immediately. "Okay, why don't we get started in the mean time? I take it you've read the contract?"

"Yeah. Are you going to quiz me on it?"

Kakuzu stared at Hidan for a few seconds, wondering if he was just being snarky and sarcastic, or whether he was actually serious about it. Hidan _looked _ like he was ready to take a test… "No…" he said, slowly.

"Good." Hidan smirked. "Because that'd just be plain weird."

Indeed it would be. No arguments there, Hidan. Kakuzu only nodded vaguely, turning to a copy of Hidan's resume his previous representatives had sent to them prior to yesterday's closed 'auditions'. Of course there hadn't really been any audition per say, but that's what they liked to call it here at the Mizukage Modeling Agency. "So, what made you switch from theology to modeling?" This had to be one of those extra weird resumes he had ever come across.

Hidan made himself comfortable in the big chair he was seated in, bringing his hands to the table and letting his fingers lightly drum on the edge. One leg sat folded against his other knee. "Well, in theology, we had to learn about the different world religions and philosophies. And by world religions, they never included the ones less heard of, like Jashinism, which are more often the more important ones. It's just that people are fucking retarded in general so they all follow the popular ones. And the worst part was that everyone else who attended the course was either a hippie or some World Peace and Religious Tolerance group member. It was fucking ridiculous working with those loons so I quit. Took up modeling instead because hey, why not, right?"

Kakuzu listened to the man's story with borderline interest, until he came to the last part. Here, he leaned back in his seat and placed his hands over his stomach. "I see. So you took up modeling because it was the only other option available, am I right?" Hidan opened his mouth to speak here, but Kakuzu had already leaned forward, hands now resting on the table, fingers intertwined. His gaze was hard, trained directly on Hidan's tyrian purple eyes. "May I take this opportunity to remind you, Mr. Hidan, that here at MMA, we take modeling very seriously." He stressed on the 'very', almost pausing soon after he'd uttered the word. "It is more than just a career. It's a lifestyle. And it is my job to ensure that we hire the most dedicated, hard working individuals."

Hidan now leaned forward as well, mimicking Kakuzu's pose. He looked right into Kakuzu's eyes, staring at him with the same intensity. "And that's why you're looking at the most hard working, dedicated, best looking, most confident guy for the job. Did I mention I can work under any fucking circumstance? 'Pressure' doesn't even exist in my vocabulary while I'm working. All I ask is that I have a constant supply of chilled mineral water – I won't accept any other kind – and that the rest of the crew better be able to keep up with me." This was said with such unwavering conviction that Kakuzu found himself admitting to himself that he was impressed. He leaned back in his seat, relaxed now as he continued to listen to what else Hidan had to say. "And it wasn't that I took up modeling because it was the only other option available. Tch. I bet I would qualify for medical school if I applied. Seriously."

Kakuzu tapped the back of his pen on the open folder, a side smile on his features as he observed the young man in front of him. "Alright." To be honest, he found that information quite comforting, and his gut told him that Hidan would deliver good on his statement. Kakuzu brought his right leg over his left, ankle resting on knee, and casually twirled ninety degrees in his chair. Pen still in hand, he rapped it twice on Hidan's resume. "What kind of modeling are you interested in and why?" It wasn't that Hidan would be given much of a choice in the upcoming project, but Kakuzu felt he should ask anyway. Protocol, he told himself. But he'd always work his way around models' preferences and convince them to take part in anything and everything the agency had to offer. With Kakuzu, there was no room for respecting personal opinion. Everything was business.

"Mostly fashion." By now Hidan had slunk back in his seat. "Focusing on editorial, runway, catalog… Anything, really." He sent a somewhat suggestive little smirk Kakuzu's way. "And glamour." Of course Hidan would do glamour. He had a body to kill for and the sexiest bedroom eyes ever. This Kakuzu noted, eyeing the candidate's torso from where he sat. Hidan seemed to have picked the best possible t-shirt for his interview. The simple black fabric did much to tease the viewer with generous hints of what was underneath – perfect tone and contours. Kakuzu found himself measuring the man's dimensions in his head, imagining that very torso he had laid eyes upon the previous day at the bath house. Somehow, it looked more appealing today than it had done yesterday. He figured it was probably something about how the t-shirt was almost a second skin, but not quite so tight either. He imagined how it would be if Hidan were to roll up that t-shirt, beginning at the hem, inch by sexy inch of perfect stomach and abs exposed until the bunched up fabric was sitting tight just above those perfect pectorals.

Hidan noticed the engrossed look on the manager's face and smirked wider, subtly adjusting himself in his seat, giving Kakuzu a little more to imagine as those muscles moved fluidly. This, too, Kakuzu noticed. And imagine he did – for another half a minute or so before snapping back to reality. He cleared his throat. "Glamour, yes." He took down notes beside some of the bulleted points Nigel had printed out for him. "We've been looking for a model who has the ideal make and personality for a project we've been working on since the beginning of the year and, I must say, you seem to fit the category quite well. Which is why we asked you to come." There was just a hint of a smile on Kakuzu's lips when he looked up at Hidan then, while in truth he was still rather distracted.

Hidan lifted an eyebrow. "So you'd already settled on me even before I told you I would do glamour?" He chuckled. _This man is unbelievable_.

Kakuzu nodded. "Yes." However, noticing Hidan's reaction, he felt he needed to 'explain' his reasons for choosing prior to gaining permission from his model. "Well, like I said, the moment we saw you, we deemed you perfect for our causes. This was one of the reasons we picked the steam baths for the auditions – which weren't really auditions, I admit. You have the body we're looking for, and you definitely have the face. And with all that, we figured there was no way you wouldn't be doing glamour. I've been in this field for quite some time now to know what kind of model I'm looking at with just one glance." Here, he stopped for emphasis, and turned ninety degrees back to his original position, facing Hidan directly. "We just had to call you for an interview to make sure you had the ability, beyond your looks, to fulfill our criteria."

Presently, a young employee walked in with Hidan's chilled mineral water. She was the same employee who'd brought in the croissants earlier. Hidan dived in and picked up the bottle of water, ripping off the plastic seal immediately. "About time. Been more than two hours since I asked for some water. Like I said," he turned to Kakuzu, "…if your crew can't keep up with me, then I'm just getting out of here."

Kakuzu spared the girl only a sideways glance before he pulled out another sheet of printed paper from his folder. "Anna, make sure you hang around after your shift today. I need to talk to you. Three o'clock will do?" Anna only nodded. She knew this could only mean a termination, and it was high time for her to start looking elsewhere for a job. When she left the conference room, she sent Hidan a venomous glare, which Hidan caught. He returned said glare with only a smirk.

Kakuzu listened for the soft click of the door before saying: "Let's talk about your availability. You must know already that MMA is an exclusive modeling agency, and by signing our contract you agree to let MMA have twenty percent of any work you find outside the agency." Hidan gulped down about half the water in his bottle. "This also means you may find work elsewhere and be involved in other projects at the same time you have a project going on with MMA. But priority would be MMA work and we do have an extensive range of projects that require a good deal of traveling. So I must ask: do you happen to have any reservations against travel? Fear of heights, airplanes, or other issues like family?" He had already ticked the boxes next to the bullet points that read _full time_ and _travel_.

Hidan gulped down the last of his water, angling the rim of the bottle to his mouth, forcing down the very last drops of water out. "Nope." He smacked his lips, bringing the bottle down to the table. "I'm fine with traveling and working full time."

"Good." Kakuzu pretended to take down notes. "Also, you may have to work seven days a week, and we usually don't stick to a nine to five timetable." Kakuzu intended for this information to be a statement and not a question, but Hidan leaned forward…

"Just so you know, I don't work on Tuesdays."

Kakuzu looked up. "Excuse me?"

Hidan gently hit the butt of the bottle against his chin, now sitting on the very edge of his seat. "I said I don't do Tuesdays."

"And why is that?" Kakuzu leaned back in his seat, pen rapping impatiently on the table again.

"It's my day off. You heathens take Sunday off because it's your day to pray, I need my Tuesdays."

Kakuzu resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "First of all, I am an atheist and therefore feel no need to take Sundays off. Second, and most importantly, I just told you we work round the clock. No exceptions."

Hidan leaned back in his seat. He pushed the contract Damian had made him read towards Kakuzu. "Well then, I'm sorry. Guess I'm not your guy."

Kakuzu almost visibly jumped at the gesture. How had everything gone from absolutely perfect to spiral down to this? Hidan was nothing short of perfect for the job; there was no way he was going to lose him to another agency. If they lost Hidan, they would have to give up the project. This in itself would cost them a few hundred thousand. And he wasn't going to think about the many millions they would simply hand over to whatever other agency that was given the project once MMA was replaced. He thought about this for a bit, weighing over the consequences of letting Tuesdays off for Hidan versus finding a new model for the project altogether. But finding a model would take them more time, and they had already spent the first few months of this _year_ looking for the perfect face. Kakuzu glanced at the man before him. Hidan was like gold to a goblin: there was no way Kakuzu was giving _him_ up. Who knew the bastard was religious?

"Alright." Kakuzu fiddled with his pen before saying reluctantly: "I suppose we can work something out about relieving you from work on Tuesdays…"

Triumphant, Hidan grinned. "Sweet." He pulled the fat contract towards him. "So where do I sign?"

Kakuzu leaned forward, pointing out to a spot on page 32 with the back of his pen.

x.X.X.x

It was Friday and things were well under way at the MMA. Hidan stretched his arm over the wooden box he was leaning against for the fiftieth time that day. He held the pose for a few more shots before scowling at one of the photographers, sitting up, and shooting off. "What the fuck do you think you're doing shining that fucking light of yours in my face? How the fuck am I supposed to keep my eyes open for the shot with that thing in my face, you tell me!" The crew at whom this insult was aimed at mumbled an apology and readjusted his equipment, shining the light on a less intrusive spot on the backdrop now.

Hidan sighed dramatically before stretching once again, grasping the edge of the box and tightening the muscles on his arm. He angled his head just right and dug one of his feet into the straw on the floor of the stable. However, it wasn't long before he scowled again, snapped his head in the direction of the camera crew, stood up, walked over to one particular cameraman he seemed to dislike, and knocked the equipment off him. "How long did you expect me to wait in that position? It's not like the box is made of marble, you know, it's fucking splintered!" He jabbed the man in the chest. "What would it take to get it into your pea brain that all you have to do is click that little red button when I strike a pose, and _not _wait ten fucking minutes because by _then_ I just may have got a nasty splinter, or a sunburn, or Jashin only knows the sun may have changed positions in the sky so you won't have the same shadow play?" Purple eyes now glowed almost blood red. "Grow a few brain cells and show me that you're competent, why don't you, you worthless piece of shit!"

Mumbling curses under his breath, Hidan stormed off to the rest station, sitting down in a chair under an umbrella. He kicked open a cooler box and rummaged through it for a bottled of chilled water. Finding none, he kicked down the entire box, letting all its contents spill out onto the sand below. "Why don't we have any water? Oi! Can I get a bottle of water here?"

One of the crew in charge of refreshments came running towards him, a bottle of chilled mineral water in hand. Hidan couldn't have held the bottle for more than just a few seconds before he held it up to the girl's face. "You call this 'chilled'? Why don't you look up the meaning of the word in a dictionary and _then_ come get me some water, bitch." The girl gasped, hopping back one step as he slammed the bottle of water at her feet with such force that the cap shot open and slightly-less-than-chilled mineral water gushed out its mouth, darkening the sand.

Furious, Hidan turned to Kakuzu (who happened to be standing next to Mei, watching the entire scene unfold). He pointed an accusatory finger at the manager. "I told you I wasn't going to work for you unless your crew can fucking keep up with me!"

Kakuzu chuckled, nodding in the model's direction. "You did!" He waved at him. "Keep up the good work, Hidan. I'll see to it that the others follow through." Hidan gave him a scowl that read 'not good enough', then turned to kick the cooler box further away.

Kakuzu cleared his throat and clapped his hand twice, immediately getting everybody else's undivided attention. "See to it that Mr. Hidan gets what he wants when he wants, please. I don't want to delay the shoot any longer. We have a plane to catch at 5.00am tomorrow, and this better get done here or someone's going to have to pack their bags and set out for good." There was a general murmur and vague nods as the crew got back to work, and settled for waiting on Hidan, hand and foot.

"Quite the spoiled brat we have on board, mm?" Mei was smiling at the little bit of drama that Hidan had displayed moments ago. Sometimes it was good to have some drama to look forward to when you came to work.

"Hn. But he is good, and he does have a point." At this, Mei looked at Kakuzu. He shrugged. "At least the part about our camera crew. We really need to get someone new on the team."

"I agree," she said, turning back to the photo shoot. "It's been tough since Steve left us. The rest of them don't really get along without him."

"I was thinking of Ino…"

Mei turned to face him again, a little surprised at his suggestion. "Ino? The intern?"

"Yeah. Why not? She's got a good eye for mood, colors, and composition. She did well on the last project we were working on. I think she would work well as a permanent member of our photography unit."

"Yes, but isn't it a little too soon?"

"I think she's ready, Mei."

Mei only watched him closely for a moment longer before smiling to herself and silently slipping her arm in his. A little alarmed by this gesture, Kakuzu glanced down at her, avoiding eye contact, but watching how her arm crooked within his. She brought her free hand up to gently grasp his bicep. "Kakuzu." She led him away from the rest of their crew and started to walk towards her trailer. "Tomorrow would be the last time I'd get to see you in four months."

He laughed. "If I didn't know you better, I would have said you sounded rather heartbroken."

She smiled, stepping into her trailer now and tugging Kakuzu to come along. "We need to talk about our agenda for when I get back." Of course, with Terumi Mei, it was always about business. Kakuzu exhaled slowly, relieved that she really _wasn't_ upset about leaving him for four months. He stepped inside, full of ideas for what they should start on next.

x.X.X.x

Two months later, Kakuzu was in Thailand, shooting the third phase of their project. Hidan had stopped being an insufferable pain in the ass to work with (much to the joy of almost everybody on the team) ever since he had come down with a bad stomach bug during their stay in India. That unfortunate episode cost them a week of filming. He also stopped insisting on chilled mineral water. This, too, was due to his encounter with the Indian stomach bug.

When Hidan had walked into the restaurant, he had no idea that asking for bottled water was probably the safest route to survival. Instead, he had fussed and complained and somehow managed to convince the waiters there that he wouldn't accept anything less than what he asked for. And so the waiters, local men who were more than willing to please the foreign customer, had set out in search of this 'chilled mineral water'. When they returned, they brought Hidan's water in a golden pitcher. Impressed, Hidan even took a photograph of it.

The water was poured with great ceremony and reverence, and Hidan had been amazed by this mini ritual. Needless to say, so was the rest of MMA crew, who looked on in awe beside him at their table. The waiter who served them insisted that it was the purest mineral water taken straight from the Ganges, the holiest river in the land. Hidan, unaware that the Ganges carried the pollution and excrement of a few hundred million people, drank it all up… only to end up severely ill within four hours.

Needless to say, this unfortunate event led to Hidan losing a considerable amount of weight, which worried Kakuzu immensely. His healthy complexion had taken up a sallow tone, which no amount of make-up could hide. His beautiful eyes had dimmed and their color lightened – they no longer looked as expressive as they used to on film. Afraid of catching another bug, Hidan had refused to eat or drink anything for a few days. Afraid of falling behind schedule another month, Kakuzu had somehow managed to convince Hidan to eat and beef up by threatening that he would not be able to leave the Indian subcontinent unless he got better. That was all the motivation Hidan needed to start eating again: he had no intention of staying over _any_ longer…

Thailand had been good so far; Hidan had stuck to the menu (Kakuzu and Damian had made sure of that). However, it was Monday once again, and the star of the show was refusing to work Tuesdays.

"Hidan, we're already far behind here thanks to you getting sick in India. We can't really _afford_ to waste any time!" Kakuzu stood at the doorway to Hidan's hotel room, frowning in his ninth attempt to try and sway Hidan into working the next day.

"Listen, Kakuzu. First of all, it wasn't my fault I got sick. Those weirdos served me human shit in a golden pitcher and called it mineral water, alright? I was poisoned! _Second_. We agreed I can have my Tuesdays off. We signed a fucking contract. It is set in stone. So now what're you on about? It's ten thirty in the night and I need to get to bed, so stop wasting _my_ time." Hidan sat on the edge of his bed, arms crossed and pouting, staring hard back at Kakuzu. He knew that giving up one Tuesday meant giving up the rest of his Tuesdays.

Frustrated, Kakuzu stepped inside and closed the door behind him. "What do you want me to do? Do you want me to beg? I'll beg if it means you'll get to work tomorrow." He was ready to do anything at this point. But if he had to beg, he was going to make Hidan pay for it in some way after the shoot.

Hidan looked at him incredulously, taken aback by the offer. "_No_, I don't want you to beg." And as an afterthought, he added: "Although that would be nice…" Seeing Kakuzu's frown at that latter part made him grin.

Kakuzu took a seat beside Hidan on the bed. "Listen, Hidan. I respect your right to practice whatever religion you choose to follow. I understand that you're a very religious guy and need the day off to do… whatever it is you religious people do on Tuesdays, _but_… We are talking about a two and a half _million_ dollars here." His voice, by now, had become patronizing and condescending, and he couldn't help it – he just happened to get that way when situations turned out to be such. In Kakuzu's opinion, if two and a half million dollars wasn't telling you how important the task at hand was, then you deserved to be treated like a child. "Two and a half _million_," he stressed again. "A good part of that goes into your paycheck. And this is an international project, hosted by WAA. This is guaranteed to get you fame that only a super model could dream of. I mean, tell me how many models with only three _weeks_ of prior experience lands an opportunity like this?"

Hidan listened to all this, the tone of his manager's voice grating in his ears. "So now you're pinning all the hard work on yourself and basically saying that I'm just a fucking prop with no real talent, is that it?" Violet eyes glared accusingly at Kakuzu.

Kakuzu shook his head. "No. _No_." He resisted the urge to use his fists to get through to Hidan. "All I'm trying to say is that if you don't work tomorrow, we will fall behind again, and we can't really afford any more delays with the tight schedule we have. This is a big project and we'll have to let it go if it isn't done right." He sighed, frustrated. "Do you _not_ want to work on this project?"

"I do. But we agreed—"

"I know we agreed to letting you take Tuesdays off, but Hidan, can't you please make just one exception?" There was a pause before Kakuzu found himself almost at the verge of losing it completely. "Just, just…!" He clenched his fists. "What do you want? What do you want from me? Name anything, I'll give it to you." This was very unlike him, but desperate times called for desperate measures…

Hidan thought about this offer seriously for a minute of two, smirking to himself as he formulated a plan in his head. "Anything?" He asked again, as confirmation.

"Anything," came the response in an affirmative tone.

"Hmm…" Hidan pretended to think about this for a while longer until he finally put down his request in two simple words: "Kiss me."

Kakuzu sat there, waiting for something else to follow those words because… he hadn't heard that right, had he? When none seemed to follow, he croaked out: "Excuse me?"

"I said, kiss me." Hidan waited patiently for a response from the manager.

A short note of laughter and disbelief. "No," he said, getting up and making his way to the door. In a matter of seconds, he was out of Hidan's hotel room and heading straight down the hallway to his. When he turned the corner, he ran into Damian, who had been on his way to check on how things were going with the 'persuasion'.

"I take it he said no?" Damian rubbed his shoulder where Kakuzu had banged into him. He followed the taller man into his room. Kakuzu was already on the bed, shoes and all, clutching his head with both hands. Gingerly, Damian took a seat on the far corner of the bed.

Kakuzu groaned. "Can't we just let him not work tomorrow?"

"I can't believe you let him not work on Tuesdays in the first place!"

"Can we please stop blaming this on me?" He pressed his fingers in circles into his temples, relieving an oncoming migraine. "How much would it cost us? I need the exact value."

Sighing, Damian pulled out the sheet they had been working out their losses if Hidan didn't agree to work tomorrow. He glanced at Kakuzu one last time and then said: "One million six hundred and fifty two thousand without the additional two and a half million if WAA makes good on their threat to pull out. So that makes four mil—" He didn't have to continue: Kakuzu had already left the room in a panic.

Damian tossed the paper onto the bed and ran after him. "Kakuzu! Please try and refrain from bruising or bloodying him up. We need him intact for—"

"I got it!" Kakuzu cut him off. He strode off towards Hidan's room as Damian watched and rapped on the door.

Hidan had a feeling Kakuzu would be back and, now only in his towel and on his way to shower, he turned around at the sound of the incessant knocking and huffed. Mumbling indecencies to himself, he finally got to the door, turning the handle and opening it. He only had time to register Kakuzu's presence before the man leaned in and kissed him on the cheek… And in a flash, Kakuzu had turned around, ready to leave.

"Oi!" Hidan reached out just in time to pull Kakuzu back inside and shut the door behind him. "What the hell was that?"

"A kiss. You wanted one. So see you at work tomorrow." He turned around again to unlock the door. He seriously wasn't going to stick around for more, especially when Hidan in just a towel was giving him dirty thoughts already.

"Not so fast, tough guy." Hidan couldn't keep from laughing at how Kakuzu was taking all of this. "That wasn't a kiss. I was talking about a _real _kiss. That there wasn't even _close_." He crossed his arms, watching Kakuzu stop against the door. "You won't see me at work tomorrow. Not when that's the kind of kiss you can give your top model."

"If you don't come to work tomorrow, I will fire you," Kakuzu gritted out, back still turned to Hidan.

Hidan scoffed. "Sure, why don't you? Without me, it's only 2.5 mil to worry about, yeah?" He knew they couldn't fire him. He was well aware of their situation, and he was exploiting it as best he could.

Kakuzu visibly flinched at the mention of money. He knew he was trapped. They couldn't afford to fire Hidan. Not only was he the best they'd ever had, but he was also their last resort. He felt like an idiot for letting Hidan in on this little secret. The professional thing to do would have been to be discrete and always give his employees the impression that they were not indispensable. But Hidan was someone who thrived on flattery, and it had to be done, he told himself, over and over again as he regretted leaving a gaping hole in his plans for Hidan to come back and bite him in the ass with blackmail. As of now, he had nowhere to turn to. So, giving up, he turned around, back leaning against the door, and looked at Hidan long and hard. "Fine," he mumbled. He'd kiss him properly.

Hidan couldn't help but smirk at this, and he stood in front of Kakuzu, waiting. And again, Kakuzu found himself wanting to hook his finger in that flimsy little towel that barely held onto Hidan's waist and pull it right off…

Kakuzu eventually leaned in, hesitant at first, but finally letting his lips touch Hidan's. When he felt Hidan smile into the kiss, he contemplated pulling away. However, Hidan brought up his hand to Kakuzu's neck, holding him down in position for much longer than the manager would have anticipated. Kakuzu wasn't going anywhere until he could prove to Hidan what it was about him that had their boss coming back for more.

Faces now merely a centimeter away from each other, Kakuzu stared right into those tyrian purple eyes that seemed to burn fiercely back at him in the dim light of the room. He tried pulling himself away from that intense gaze, but found himself locked into place by Hidan's remarkably strong grip. Of course, Kakuzu could have pulled himself completely free, but something made him stay.

"I'm not agreeing to work tomorrow until you show me what it is that keeps Mei coming back to you for more," Hidan whispered fiercely, breath fanning Kakuzu's skin.

At this, Kakuzu grinned. "In that case, a kiss is not going to suffice."

Hidan returned the grin with one of his own. "It's a good place to start."

Kakuzu felt his stomach do flips at the sound of that voice. With Mei out of the picture for so long, his body seemed to be gearing up faster for what was to come. Of course a kiss was a good place to start; it was the best, really. Agreeing wholeheartedly to the arrangement now, Kakuzu leaned in and closed the gap once again, lips crashing into Hidan's as he brought them together in a frantic kiss. Hidan's fingers buried themselves into Kakuzu's hair, clutching at the long brown locks and pulling Kakuzu closer to him. When he ran his tongue firmly against the manager's lips, he met with no resistance.

In a matter of moments, Kakuzu had pushed Hidan back onto the bed. How or when it happened, neither one had any idea.

Kakuzu's mouth found Hidan's neck, working its way systematically down the model's perfect chest, while Hidan's hands fumbled with the manager's jeans button. When Kakuzu was at those pectorals he admired so much, he stopped to flatten his tongue against sensitive skin, listening to Hidan gasp softly in response. Grinning against pale flesh, he roughly encased that spot with his lips, sucking hard on it before stopping to give it a little nibble. The low groan Hidan gave him in return was enough to make his body tingle.

Meanwhile, Hidan's hand had left Kakuzu's stubborn button and gone to unzip him instead, eager fingers slipping inside the new-found opening and running up and down the manager's clothed manhood. He couldn't help a low, lusty moan when he felt Kakuzu in his hand, all the while imagining how it would feel inside _him_. He had never stopped thinking about _that_ ever since that first day he'd rubbed up against him. By now, Kakuzu's mouth had once again found his neck, and the breathy exhale he received against his neck in response to the touches sent goosebumps rippling over Hidan's flesh. He slipped his fingers through the waistband of the other man's underwear, now touching him full on, squeezing him, stroking him as best as he could manage within the confines of those pants.

Kakuzu growled against Hidan's skin, biting down on his shoulder when he felt those encroaching fingers slip right inside and massage him. He made sure he didn't leave too many noticeable marks on Hidan, though. He still needed to work tomorrow! Now kissing him properly, he slid one hand down Hidan's chest, feeling it rise and fall with every ragged breath he was taking. He let his hand slide down further, memorizing the man's body by touch until his fingers met with the knot on Hidan's towel. Letting his fingers pass the knot undisturbed, he went lower, searching… until he found the point of overlap. Kakuzu gingerly slipped his hand under the fabric, meeting with warm skin. Hidan visibly tensed, moaning pleadingly into Kakuzu's mouth, begging for him to touch him _right there_.

And Kakuzu obliged.

Long fingers curled around Hidan's length, stroking, squeezing, teasing under that towel while Hidan moaned, increasing the pressure in his touches while he still had his hands inside the manager's pants. Kakuzu rolled his hips into Hidan's touches, relishing the contact. Hidan felt the other man grow harder in his hand, and it amazed him as to how big Kakuzu _really_ was now. Impatient, Hidan sat up, both hands now undoing the button on Kakuzu's jeans. Kakuzu pulled his hand away from Hidan, straightening up and looking down. The awkward position didn't allow him to lean over Hidan any more.

Hidan looked up at Kakuzu, lust-filled eyes shining almost red under those half closed eyelids. Kakuzu only had time to decipher a lazy smirk on Hidan's face before he felt himself taken in completely by that hot, wet, greedy mouth of his. "Fuck!" he whispered, hand going to Hidan's shoulder as a means of steadying himself. Hidan only moaned around him, sending vibrations all throughout Kakuzu's manhood as he took in every single inch of him, almost gagging as the tip touched the back of his throat. Kakuzu could only watch himself disappear every now and then as that mop of silver hair moved back and forth. At one point, Hidan let himself glance up at Kakuzu. When he met those glazed emerald eyes, Hidan grinned, now dragging his teeth down the man's shaft. Kakuzu shivered, and shivered some more as that skilled tongue now twirled and dipped and teased places only Kakuzu would have known about himself.

Kakuzu bit his lip, getting impatient by the second, wanting to impale this perfect specimen of a man, drive completely into him until he screamed his name. "Nhh…" He clutched at the mop of silver hair and pulled Hidan's head back. He pulled down on Hidan's hair further, exposing that perfect porcelain neck of his. Making quick work of the knot on Hidan's towel with his free hand, he leaned in, tongue dragging itself wetly along the curve of Hidan's neck, stopping to feel the man's adam's apple bob up and down once as he swallowed. When he came to Hidan's chin, Kakuzu hissed: "Turn around."

Hidan felt himself twitch down there at the sound of that voice. Grinning, he let Kakuzu loosen his grip on his hair, and then flipped onto his stomach on command. On his hands and knees now, Hidan looked back at Kakuzu from over his shoulder, pushing his ass up to the man's groin and grinding against his need. "Nnghh _fuck_…!" Oh he wanted that. _All_ of that…

Kakuzu was momentarily blinded by this display (and also by how _good_ it felt on him). When was the last time he'd fucked a guy? He couldn't remember. It had definitely been too long. Gripping Hidan by his hips, he took a moment to marvel at how perfect every single part of this man's body was. He figured he might have to rethink his opinion about Mei's ass… Still looking over his shoulder, Hidan watched as Kakuzu positioned himself and slowly began to enter him, his dick still wet from that coating of saliva he'd given him.

Hidan immediately pushed his head into the sheets below and groaned, one hand reaching behind to push against Kakuzu's thigh, pushing him away for a moment. Kakuzu stopped, pulling out completely. _Jashin_, he thought, biting his lip as he now gripped Kakuzu in his hand and guided him, rubbing the tip, moving it in tight circles as he teased himself with it. Kakuzu took this as a cue to take matters slower.

By the time Kakuzu was fully sheathed inside Hidan, the latter was moaning like a porn star. Tears stung the corners of Hidan's eyes with every thrust that followed, and his moans rose in volume and frequency, carrying on along the corridor and wafting right into Damian's room. Whoever designed the building had ivery/i limited knowledge of sound waves and how they travelled through closed spaces.

Damian lay in bed, pillow pressed to his ears as he tried to drown out the noise and get some sleep…


End file.
